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In the Great Deposit of Food Phobias post, a few of you said that you were afraid of making pancakes and my instant un-asked-for retort is that you all clearly didn’t grow up in my house, where I am pretty sure that knowing when to flip a pancake was one of the first cooking tricks I ever learned.

Mom made pancakes at least a couple weekends a month, and was loyal to the Joy of Cooking recipe, a page so batter-stained and grimy, I am pretty sure the book falls open to it even when the red ribbon isn’t at that page, which is never. And though I promise not to judge you, please, whatever you do, don’t say that Schmisquick word to my mother. It upsets her. I still remember sleeping over my friend’s house and coming over and saying that her mom made pancakes for breakfast, and that they were okay.

Mom was ruthless, and apparently I wasn’t much better. In college, my friends and I took to driving out to the 24-hour IHOP in Arlington whenever it struck our fancy, but I never ordered pancakes. At IHOP. Because they tasted like they were from a mix. And my mother, rather than discouraging the “Pancake Snob” label my friends were giving me, beamed with pride.

But that’s enough about all the ways my mother poisoned me against anything but homemade things. I’d much rather take you on a tour of how easy pancakes can be.

10 Pancake Tips

First things first, the recipe: Though I have nostalgia for the Joy of Cooking everyday pancakes, I particularly like Martha Stewart’s Best Buttermilk Pancakes from her Original Classics book, so that’s what I used today. If you read between the lines, you’ll probably figure out that this just means I had a lot of buttermilk to use up, but honestly, I do think that tang goes a long way to making pancakes better and brighter. It is an almost one-bowl recipe, too; utterly perfect for the simultaneous demands for homemade pancakes and having them “now”. In a pinch, you can substitute yogurt.

I mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl, melt the butter in a little ramekin in the microwave, beat an egg into the buttermilk and mix it all together–just barely. Winker said that she’s “horrible” at pancakes… “…even when I mix them from the box. Too dense, under cooked, burntâ€¦Never Light and fluffy.” This is where the “just barely” mixing comes in: you want small to medium-sized lumps in the batter. No lumps means a dense pancake.

If you want your pancakes even lighter, the best way to get that is to separate the eggs, mix the yolks in the with the batter and whip the egg whites until stiff. If you fold them gently back into the batter–this should be your very last step–your pancakes will be unbelievably light, with an extra-crisp edge.

Once you’ve got your batter all ready, the next tip that I cannot underline enough is to keep the pan on the low side of medium. Cat’s pajamas says that her pancakes always burn or not cook at all. “Isn’t there a happy medium… like perfect?” I find that too-hot pans can both burn the edges and keep the insides of a pancake runny. Low-to-medium is the answer. Your patience will be rewarded.

Once the pan is heated, I like to brush it with a very thin coat of melted butter, which is my tip for Celeste, who says that she struggles with the amount of oil when making pancakes. “I’ve gone with too little and scraped them off the pan, and I’ve gone with too much and been accused of making funnel cakes.” The brush–or even a spray of Pam, though you’ll get less awesome flavor–gives just the right amount of oil, without them tasting fried. They’re not fritters; they’re breakfast, right?

It’s time to flip the pancake when bubbles appear on the surface. You’ll see tiny ones quite soon. Once you see a whole bunch, go ahead and flip it. If some batter oozes out–this always happens to me, lacking a griddle, I find it hard to get a clean flip because the sides of my frying pan gets in the way–just push it back into the pancake with your spatula. I had more than one blueberry roll out, and simply pushed them back under.

Once you’ve flipped your pancake, it cooks much faster on the other side, just a minute or two. Because your pan won’t be too hot, though, it won’t be too brown before the insides are cooked.

Sometimes when I flip a pancake–ahem, often–it tears or oozes so much that a bit of batter comes through on the cooked side. If so,once the second side is done, I’ll flip it back for 10 seconds or so, until that excess batter gets cooked.

Pancakes can absolutely be made ahead. Keep your oven at 175°F, have a baking sheet or oven-proof plate ready, and store the pancakes in there until you’ve got them all cooked. I wouldn’t do this for more than 30 to 45 minutes–they can dry out–but for a short period, they’ll be as good as just-fried.

If you want to make blueberry pancakes–and you really, really should, especially now that they’re in season, though I’ve used frozen and they were almost as good–the best trick I’ve learned is from Molly, of the dry-rubbed ribs fame, who was kind enough to make us blueberry pancakes a couple times when I lived with her back in 1999: Keep the blueberries separate, and plop them onto the batter once you’ve poured the pancake into the pan. This keeps the whole thing neater, as they only touch really the pan directly on the other side. Mostly.

And that’s it! Now I shall go scavenge the extra pancake in the fridge, because writing this post has made me hungry for seconds.

Pancakes, elsewhere: You can see all of the Smitten Kitchen Pancake recipes listed here.

New blues! A newer, thicker blueberry pancake recipe was created with yogurt and whole grains in the summer of 2011. You can see it here.

1. Preheat an electric griddle to 375°F, or place a griddle pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons melted butter, and whisk to combine. The batter should have small to medium lumps.

2. Test the griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If the water bounces and spatters, the griddle is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, brush the remaining 1/2 teaspoon butter onto the griddle. Wipe off the excess with a folded paper towel.

3. Using a 4-oz. ladle, about 1/2 cup (for a 6-inch pancake), pour the batter in pools 2 inches apart. If you wish to make blueberry pancakes, arrange a handful over the cooking pancake, pressing them in slightly. When the pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around the edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. If any batter oozes or blueberries roll out, push them back under with your spatula. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

4. Repeat with the remaining batter. You can keep the finished pancakes on a heat-proof plate in the oven at 175°F. Serve warm.

We eat many batches of pancakes at my house and used to make a buttermilk recipe similar to the one you posted. However, I made the Cornmeal-Cranberry Pancakes that the Wednesday Chef posted and we are now obsessed. The cornmeal adds an incredible texture and the crazy amount of baking powder makes them super light. This is now our go-to pancake recipe (though I usually use blueberries instead of cranberries since I am obsessed with blueberries) and gets raves from everyone.

My favorites are the ones from Marion Cunningham’s Breakfast Book, which if I may make a plea, is TOTALLY worth your limited kitchen shelf space. When I’m feeling really decadent and/or want to impress people I make these ones from Saveur Magazine.
Thanks for posting everyday this week!

Deb, this is why I love your blog. I also grew up in a house where Bisquick is a dirty word. My mom made her great-great-grandma’s buttermilk pancakes and my dad made his sourdough pancakes, and we ate both with cane syrup and nothing else. To this day I will only eat buttermilk and sourdough pancakes – anything else just tastes, well, gross.

my parents were the exact same way: i can’t stand to eat anything not made from scratch, especially soup and desserts. and yes, i pretty much remember pancakes being the first food i ever cooked, and i frequently made them for my family–in the first grade! good times. i really want to try buttermilk pancakes now….i always used the betty crocker or better homes and gardens cookbook–all we had: my parents didn’t really use recipes.

Also, a really simple buttermilk pancake recipe is: mix buttermilk and flour and an egg. I think I do 1.5 cups milk and 1 cup flour, but really just toss in more liquid or more flour until the consistency of the batter is to our liking. Then make them, using 1/8-1/4 cup of batter for each (again, this is a personal thing – I like mine about 3″-4″ across). You know they’re ready to flip when the edges are completely set and the middle is mostly set. Put butter on the top of each one when you stack them, and then serve with cane syrup. Yum!

Personally, I swear by Ruth Reichl’s pancake recipe in the Gourmet Cookbook. The recipe calls for a stick of melted butter and it makes the pancakes super rich. That said I like the idea of blueberry and buttermilk and will have to try this recipe next time I have a hankering for pancakes.

Pancakes are awesome. Sometimes we whip up a batch for dinner or supper or heck even dessert cause mmmmm pancakes. We like ours verrrrrrry hearty. With rolled oats, ground flax and pecans in them. They make the sort of pancake that fills you up with just one…but of course we eat 2.
I am craving blueberries now though after looking at your pics, I can’t remember the last time I had blueberries in my pancakes.

Confession #1: on a camping trip I made the kind where you add water, shake, and pour.
Confession #2: it was only until I moved out on my own that I knew what a true, homemade pancake was. See, I thought everyone used Bisq…the mix that shall not be named. I haven’t gone back since.

These look amazing ive never had american style pancakes but the idea of blueberry and buttermilk sounds great. I have to agree with the homemade thing my mum was exactly the same and so ive been brought up to appreciate the effort as well as the (normally + hopefully) better taste

I like to sprinkle the blueberries on the just-poured pancakes, and then use a small spoon to spread the top of each blueberry with a smidgen of batter, so that they don’t bubble up when they hit the heat, but there remains a pleasing, well-distributed amount of berries, sans purple batter.

When I was growing up, my grandma used to notify everyone the evening before she planned a big pancake breakfast, so we could stop by on the way to school. It was always a cause for excitement; my cousins and I got hopped up on pancakes with cane syrup and the adults enjoyed their coffee and conversation knowing we’d detox at school. (It was probably at one of these breakfasts that my grandma taught me when to flip the pancakes — she’d like this tutorial a lot.)

And now I need blueberry pancakes for dinner. I’d be awfully upset if I didn’t have all the blueberries in blueberryville in my fridge right now.

I’m flattered you quoted me in your blog..but should I be?
HA!
I see where I’ve been failing in your tips and am going to try the Joy’s pancakes tomorrow.
I forgot to tell you that only once did my pancakes come out light and fluffy….I was probably about 15 yrs old and everyone had gone to mass except me. So i surprised them when they got home with these GORGEOUS pancakes. Everyone sat down served themselves up, said grace and dug in. Moments later everyone was spitting them out onto their plates. I had mixed up the soda for the baking powder, or vice versa, the recipe didn’t have both like the one above. It was a very humbling experience!

My 1954 edition of JOC has that same slimy grimy texture on the pancake recipe page. I so grew up w/out that ‘rhymes with’ stuff and can taste a mix pancake a mile away blindfolded. We even did scratch waffles, which apparently are on the endangered list. My son, ever so in danger of snobbish, took two bites of a frozen waffle at a cousin’s house and politely declared he was ‘full’ to avoid eating anymore. ‘Yuk’ he said to me. ‘Don’t ever buy those.’ which will never happen as long as I draw breath.

Your tips should help those with pancake phobia. Now can you tell me what a flapjack is???

I was also incredibly spoiled with homemade pancakes virtually every weekend. Your pictures are beautiful, and they make me realize it has been far too long since I’ve made blueberry pancakes! (My mom, however, was partial to the James Beard recipe)

Those pancakes look lovely. I would love to try out the recipe soon. I don’t have buttermilk on hand. Is it ok to substitute with milk? I know buttermilk makes it yummier though. Thanks. I did your slice and bake cookies and love them. :)

Yummm, this is what we had this morning, too, with homemade blueberry syrup (and we picked our own berries last Sunday, so how hippy-dippy can we get!?) I do the Joy recipe, like your mom, but I’m also hugely partial to whole-wheat pancakes made with yogurt and grated apples, which rock your socks and make you feel all healthy, too. It took me years to get pancakes right – I used to make these big mushy scrambled messes, and now I make oddly-shaped but always delicious pancakes. I’ve found that doing it well just takes practice and kids who are willing to eat your mistakes!

i was going to agree. of all the pancake recipes i’ve tried, i have to hand it to martha — she’s got this one down. and it doesn’t require the use of cheesecloth or something else i don’t have. yay! these are melt-in-your-mouth happy.

How can you be sure you won’t have batter balls if you don’t mix until the lumps are gone? Every time I make pancakes something in my head tells me to stop mixing, but then I think of the powdery explosion of a batter ball and mix until the lumps are gone. I’m going to try these for Sunday breakfast. Wish me luck!

I’ll have to try this! My mom opened many a box of B-quick; despite the fact that she was a native Southerner she never made biscuits from scratch. Isn’t that pitiful? I make them from scratch all the time and she can’t get over it.

LOL. I made a pancake for dessert last night, + batter for breakfast this morning… and this is the second “pancake mix is useless” food blog conversation I’ve come across in 12 hours! don’t know what the deal is with your b-quick brand, but the ones in Australia apparently still require eggs and milk, so really, you may as well just measure out the flour, baking powder, sugar etc too, right? how much quicker is it, really? ;)

I have been looking for a great pancake recipe, not being in love with the Joy of Cooking one (am I allowed to say that)? So thanks for this. And thank you for the egg white tip – I looooove crisp edges on my pancakes so I am definitely going to try this!

Your sentiments about homemade pancakes is a reflection of the sentiments of my children and husband. My daughter has been called a pancake snob too, and I’m pretty sure that label came during a visit to an IHOP with college friends. They also give her grief for her insistence that chocolate chips cookies be made with real butter and real vanilla. Now she cooks and bakes for the friends and they get it.

First time commenter over here, but I’m pretty sure pancakes was one of the first things I’ve learned cooking-wise as a kid, so I too, am a pancake snob. You just can’t beat home made from scratch. Ever. Sometimes, ok, very rarely, I’ll order pancakes from a restaurant- only to end up disappointed that they’re of the ‘sweat shop’ mix variety.
Next time I make some, I’m going to stack them with a thin layer of dulce de leche in the middle.
Absolutely love your blog, it’s addictive!

Oooooh! I’m craving them right now. My son is the “pancake and syrup snob” at our house. Homemade all the way. I use the recipe from my Ma’s old Betty Crocker cookbook of the fifties. However, we must have Pure Maple Syrup and Land o’Lakes butter, after all I am from Minnesota! I am going to give your recipe a try tomorrow and I’ll let you know what Jacob thinks.:)

Hi Deb, this is my first post to your terrific site. I’ve been reading it for a while now…. but today’s post forced a comment. When I was a teenager, my dad and I had a running competition on who could make the best pancakes. (He always made us breakfast when I was in high school.) We’d try different recipes sometimes, but usually made the version from my mom’s Betty Crocker cookbook, and always with buttermilk. Never with …@!$isquick!! So I’m a pancake snob too!! (Must have real maple syrup…!)

My dad’s been gone now almost a year, and my last kiddo is leaving the nest soon, but I ALwaYS made them homemade pancakes on a cast iron griddle when they were growing up!! Such fond memories! Thanks for a wonderful post. And your tips for making perfect pancakes are fabulous!! I think I’ll have to make some really soon!

I never have buttermilk around (beyond the powdered form which is a bit yuck) so I usually sour the milk with a bit of lemon juice. And I always make them in a large Pyrex measuring cup so I can pour them directly onto the griddle. No ladle necessary.

Anyone ever had banana pancakes? they are my favorite! just thinly slice your banana’s and plop them in the way Deb says to put in the blueberries. Cook them as normal and they are brilliant! In fact, you can add lots of different fruits. My family has done this for ages and one of the first things I learned is when to turn a pancake too. It just takes a little practice and paitence.

I’ll have to give this recipe a try. I have three or four different pancake recipes that I rotate. My kids love blueberry pancakes. we have been making them like crazy lately with blueberries that we picked.

Made these for breakfast this morning and they were incredible! So light and fluffy! I thought my 3 year old was going to pop, he ate so many. Really great recipe and tips. I used my electric non-stick griddle and at first I thought you were a little off with the temp at 375, but then realized that I’ve always cooked them at too low a temp and they get dried out instead of staying moist and yummy. Thanks Deb!

I live by Martha’s Best Buttermilk Pancake recipe! I found they are absolutely perfect in everyway and have spoiled me when it comes to other inferior pancakes and boxed mixes.
Not that I haven’t used those in a pinch but ….those buttermilk pancakes are fabulous!

Although I must confess to using that stuff that rhymes with Schmisquick in a pinch, I have a lot of success with the NY Times recipe for ‘everyday pancakes’ from Dec ’06. It includes a blueberry variation. Although Deb, your griddle heating and flipping tips are spot on! (and why, may I ask, do you not have a griddle?? I use mine for tons of stuff – indispensible)

I made Alton’s this morning, but forgot I was out of buttermilk and had to sour some regular. Never again – they tasted OK, but they were nowhere near as fluffy and thick. His recipe is very close to the one you posted, except it’s got half as much baking powder and baking soda, and 50% less buttermilk. I’ll have to try these to see how they compare.

Although this is not purist in cooking, I have found that using the commercial spray cooking oil on the griddle keeps the blueberries from sticking and limits personal fat intake.
Also, the OLDER the buttermilk, the lighter the pancakes. I have used it months past the expiration date with great results.

I find that when the temperature of the pan is hot enough (water sizzles when dropped in pan) I don’t need to add any oil or butter at all and this prevents my pancakes from coming out greasy…this also helps alleviate my guilt when eating pancakes drowned in syrup, but i suppose if you’re going to eat something bad you might go all the way?

I also enjoy cooking Pancakes and for a couple of years have used this recipe from Elton Brown that allows you to make up a pancake dry mix to store in an airtight container for about 3 months and then make pancakes from the homemade mix. I also like it because it can easily be halved for a small order!

Heat an electric griddle or frying pan to 350 degrees F. Heat oven to 200 degrees F.
Whisk together the egg whites and the buttermilk in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the melted butter.
Combine the buttermilk mixture with the egg yolk mixture in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the pancake mix. Using a whisk, mix the batter just enough to bring it together. Don’t try to work all the lumps out.
Check to see that the griddle is hot by placing a few drops of water onto to the griddle. The griddle is ready if the water dances across the surface.
Lightly butter the griddle. Wipe off thoroughly with a paper towel. (No butter should be visible.)
Gently ladle the pancake batter onto the griddle and sprinkle on fruit if desired. When bubbles begin to set around the edges of the pancake and the griddle-side of the cake is golden, gently flip the pancakes. Continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes or until the pancake is set.
Serve immediately or remove to a towel-lined baking sheet and cover with a towel. Hold in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes.
Yield: 12 pancakes

I make my own baking mix also. It uses 6 cups sifted flour, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp soda, but uses 3 Tbsp baking powder and 2 Tbsp powdered sugar, plus 1 cup shortening cut in until it’s the consistancy of Shmisquik..like a clumpy flour. I do it in my food processor, but a mixer works fine too for cutting in the butter or shortening. I would use butter instead of shortening, but it wouldn’t hold up as long. The salt quantity you can adjust to your taste actually..I don’t like things too salty so I use the 1 tsp.

For pancakes I just whip an egg or two in my quart size measureing cup, whisk in milk or buttermilk and stir in as much mix as makes a, lumpy batter, as thin or thick as you want your pancakes.. DONE! Cook! I have also added applesauce to it too and/or any fruit that appeals at the moment. I’ve added extra melted butter, cinnamon or nutmeg( if desired) or a squirt of pancake syrup to the batter for extra sweetness! Too easy!

I love it! In our family (or at my Daddy’s house, at least) it was the Joy griddle cakes recipe, where the red ribbon constantly lived. I never liked them much, though – pale pancakes like this are my personal preference, and those were dark brown and whole wheat and just far too healthy!

I have also made Alton Brown’s pancakes with great success. The recipe a commenter has listed above makes enough for 3 batches, and you can store the mix in a canister for later. Then you just have to be sure to have buttermilk on hand! Try them with chocolate chips — decadent!

I just have to say that I learned years ago to make pancakes from scratch and have never turned back. I always have flour, etc. on hand, but never mixes, that would requiring planning ahead. I always like to use the beaten egg whites trick when making waffles. My kids grew up with homemade things which causes others to call them food snobs.

When I made pancakes with my sister a couple weeks ago, I originally was unable to find my copy of Joy. Sis texted a friend of hers to ask how to make pancakes. The answer she got back was “with pancake mix”. So sad. So sad.

Hi Deb,
Thank you for the recipe and great pictures. I’ve only ever tried making pancakes once, out of a box, and only because it wasn’t the buttermilk variety as my husband doesn’t like buttermilk pancakes. I have 2 questions. Can I use plain milk instead of buttermilk? And do you have a recipe for swedish pancakes? :)
Thank you!

I made these this morning, and while I always make nice pancakes from scratch, my husband took one bite and said “These are GOOD! Is there something really different about these?” And I had to tell him yes. New recipe, more butter, more buttermilk.

We normally don’t have much butter IN our pancakes so we felt quite rich indeed!

Also I made these with cut up nectarines from our tree instead of blueberries. Stunning!

P.S.. I too use an electric griddle. I got it as a gift, thought I’d never use it with just two people – and we have almost worn it out! It makes french toast and pancake breakfasts SO much easier!

Hi there! My family was an Aunt Jemima family…not much better than that other mix, I know, but to me AJ always tasted a BIT less like plastic… (At least we always used real syrup). Well I’ve got a pancake horror story to share: When I was in elementary school I went to a sleep-over birthday party at a friend’s house. Her father decided to make pancakes for all of us in the morning. Not only did he insist on using THE evil mix, for some reason he thought that adding food coloring would be a good idea. So we had plates full of red, green, yellow, and blue Barbie pancakes (mix pancakes always look too perfect). I still remember being so disgusted that the best I could do was choke down a yellow one…the most normal looking of the bunch.

Well I’m happy to report that I have now overcome the box. Purely by necessity, I might add: I live in Austria, where you just can’t find the mixes anywhere. Thanks to years of practice as a kid, I’ve got the flipping down. My problems now are that they aren’t fluffy (which shouldn’t be a problem once I try the tips above) and that for some reason I can’t make decently sized pancakes. I make MONSTERS. They look like steaks! I’ve already scared the Austrians with my gigantic Christmas cookies…

Thanks for the great pancake primer. Very helpful. I love eating pancakes, but I’ve always been a little intimidated by making them. I promise to never use that stuff which shall not be named ever again!

Really, frozen blueberries are worth a try if the fresh ones aren’t in season or are too expensive (as they often are for my college-sized budget). You can use them right out of the freezer, and just plop them on the pancakes after you’ve poured them! Obviously, fresh is always better, but…

I typically choose to make crepes over pancakes because I’ve never found a pancake recipe that was very inspiring but yours looks absolutely incredible and, with 3 cups of buttermilk, so moist! I will definitely try this. Thanks!

There are a lot of pancake snobs – how wonderful as this the best way to find out all of the great pancake recipes : ) I too love Marion Cunningham’s Buttermilk Pancakes…Robie’s Buttermilk Flapjacks are on the menu for next weekend. My mom always made pancakes in a cast iron skillet (when I was young, now she uses an electric griddle). I’ll try the skillet to capture the crispy edges. Thanks!

Mmmmmm, pancakes! I live in a house full of proud pancake snobs. We are also experimenters. Our favorite pancake trick is to add the juice of 1/2 a lime to just about any pancake recipe, sounds a bit odd but adds a lovely fresh sparkle. mmmmm.

I was always taught to flip the ‘cake when bubbles begin to burst and instead of filling back up with batter, they stay opened up. (thanks mom!) That’ll probably take care of the too-runny-when-you-flip-’em problem.

I too am a pancake snob as my mother only made them from scratch. I just tried a new pancake recipe yesterday and ended up with leaden disks (which I hope was just from expired baking soda and not my technique) so I will definitely try Martha’s recipe next time. Thanks for the tips!

I also remember learning when to flip pancakes at a very young age – all to do with the bubbles… but in Australia, we call these little pancakes “pikelets”, probably an English name for them, being a Commonwealth country, and all… Although pikelets are quite old-fashioned now, and not often seen, I have eaten them spread just with butter, or for a more glam version, jam and cream… yummo!

I grew up in a pancakes-are-made-from-a-mix household, and I never really liked them; my dad and brother thought I was crazy when I asked to go out for breakfast on my birthday. My mom really didn’t get the idea that some things taste better when made from scratch. Thanks for the tips, I can’t wait to try them!

I love pancakes and it is one thing I was never scared of because my Dad made them. I used the Cooking light Low-fat Buttermilk pancake recipe. So fluffy, so buttermilky in the best way possible. I should experiment with chocolate chips, blueberries, etc. Thanks for more inspiration.

I think one problem people may have with the heat level, under/over done, and oil/butter issues is that the pan you are cooking them in should be of good quality, so it will retain heat and disperse it evenly. I’ve seen too many people get frustrated and defeated, because of cheap quality pans, not lack of skill.

Oh the glory of homemade pancakes! My mom also made waffles from scratch…and syrup (water, sugar, and maple extract)…I could never stomach that weird Mrs. Butterworth’s stuff. Now I love the real maple syrup, but we couldn’t afford that growing up. I also use the drop method for chocolate chips. When I moved in with a friend during college, I made pancakes from scratch and she was in awe. Then I bought my own Belgian Waffler, and our apartment never saw a frozen waffle. :-)

Pancakes are definitely my nemesis in the kitchen…but I LOVE them so I am so glad to have this step-by-step tutorial. I’m holding out hope that it will finally be the thing that sends me on my way to pancake-making bliss! Thank you! :)

My husband uses the Joy of Cooking recipe and his pancakes are spectacular. I don’t know how they are so good but every time he makes them, I think of how sad it is that so many people use that horrible mix when they could experience true pancake bliss with just another 5 minutes (or so) of work. Yummm, now I’m going to ask him to make pancakes for breakfast this weekend. It’s been a while. In fact, I think – horror of horrors – that my younger daughter has never had them! Bad! We must rectify that immediately. Thanks for reminding me of this most sublime breakfast item!

I grew up overseas making everything from scratch and am a snob about most “homemade” things that involve mixes or shortcuts of any sort.
I’ve found that making your pancake batter the night before and leaving it in your fridge overnight, creates the most amazingly fluffy pancakes!

I am a huge fan of the JOC recipe, too. I do a variation, though, and sub whole wheat flour and flax-seed meal for the white flour, and use buttermilk instead of regular milk. Super fluffy and great texture (the flax-seed meal gives it a very light crumb that you wouldn’t expect).

Wow! I’m so honored! I didn’t think you were the kind of person to ignore others (anything but.. I’m sure) but I just felt like my measley little problem wasn’t worthy of The Great Dr. Deb at SmittenKitchen. Little did I know, you had a soft spot in your heart for pancakes. I am completely inspired. I want pancakes… RIGHT NOW. Unfortunatetly, I have late meetings tonight and early meetings tomorrow, so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow night to make these. Oh, they look fabulous. I can’t wait to dig in. I’ll let you know all about it later this week. I’ve made so many things from your site that I can’t even begin to tell you – and they’re all fabulous.

Your post came at the perfect time! I have exactly 3 cups of buttermilk in the fridge that I need to use up! So thanks for your impeccably perfect timing and post. :-) Quick question: Is it possible to mix the batter and let it sit in the fridge overnight? I am thinking about making the batter tonight, make some pancakes for dessert (there are only two of us in the house), and fridge the rest of the batter for tomorrow’s breakfast?

With that, comes a confession. I’ve never made pancakes from scratch! Well.. ONCE I did. I was following a friends recipe, and forgot to add the milk.

Yes. I did wonder why the batter seemed a bit.. thick. But I pushed ahead anyhow. And never again would I do them from scratch. ‘Panbricks’ are tasty enough, drowned in syrup. But only when your darling hubby says so. I wouldn’t recommend serving these to Sunday brunch guests.

Syrup makes anything taste better anyway, No?

But I couldn’t help but try these today. I was home alone, so no one would know the failure they’d become. And Id never heard of whipping the eggwhites seperately!

And.. I actually had buttermilk in the fridge! How that happened, Im not entirely sure.. but there it was.

What a great post. Just this morning I took a look at my 2 pints of blueberries and thought “I really think it’s time for making pancakes…” and here you are giving me the faultless, how-to tips! That’s it, it’s official! I’m making them!

I have been making pancakes nearly every day for the last 9 years for my daughter (and me!) and would NEVER think of using a mix when making them from scratch is just as easy and much more delicious. My mother always made pancakes using the Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook and so do I. I don’t even need to look up the recipe anymore, I’ve made them so many times. I must say that you are dead on with your tips to cooking pancakes—I couldn’t think of a thing to add! We love blueberry pancakes at our house too!

My mom NEVER used a mix, either. Lucky me, I grew up with a mom who cooked everything from scratch, so I’m not so intimidated by that kind of cooking (it’s really surprising how many people are). I’m by no means an expert, but I enjoy it. For pancakes, I make a mix that I found in an issue Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine that I love (that way, all my ingredients are measured out and kept in the pantry, ready for a batch of pancakes whenever), to which I just add a cup of milk, an egg, some melted butter, and usually blueberries (how can you not?). So easy, so delicious. I even made these camping last weekend (with my trusty homemade mix at hand) and all of my in-laws were flabbergasted – as if not using a mix was completely unheard of (when we got married, my husband was amazed when he suggested baking a cake and I started to get all the flour, sugar, and other ingredients out…)! Anyway, the point in mentioning all this (and there is a point…) is that I think it’s absolutely fantastic that you’re taking the all the scariness and phobia out of from-scratch cooking and getting people back to the basics!

I also have to say, that I love, love, LOVE your blog. I’ve been watching it for the past few months and I’m always inspired. Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm!

Pancakes are my serious comfort food, I even had a griddle in my dorm room at college (I took it down the hall to the shared kitchen to actually use). A room mate once noticed that if I’m making pancakes for dinner, I’m probably in distress somehow. They’re one of the easiest things that I know how to make and a recipe that I know by heart, it’s easy, because its one of everything and has hardly any dishes. I’ve never understood bisquick either, (or cake mix for that matter).

You’re going to mix this all up in a glass 2-cup measure and then pour right out of it onto the griddle. Turn the griddle up to 400 degrees and make sure it pre-heats enough. Pour the milk into the pyrex measuring cup, beat in the egg and then the melted butter. I melt the butter in a little glass ramekin/bowl and then re-fill it with frozen blueberries to thaw. Add the flour and baking powder, stir until just mixed, then drain and stir in the blueberries. You may want to add a bit more flour to thicken the batter a bit more, depending on how thick you like your pancakes, how drained your blueberries were and how well you measured while sleepy.

Pour the batter into even puddles on the griddle, I usually get 6 pancakes, which fills the griddle. flip when the surface dulls and bubbles form in the middle. Enjoy!

Great job helping everyone conquer their fear of things that really aren’t scary at all.

I was just talking about how my pancakes stink so thanks for the primer. I think my main issue is over-mixing.

I haven’t read through all the comments so if this has been said already, my apologies …but now that I’m a mom to young kids, I do the same as my mom did with pancakes. If I’ve got a few uneaten pancakes leftover, I put then in plastic baggies 2 at a time in the freezer. Then, on a harried morning I just pop them in the toaster on “low” and they pop up ready to be eaten.

Of course, they aren’t as great as right out of the pan, but solves my issue of hating to throw away food and gets pancakes on the table in record time.

I’m going to have to try your recipe! I grew up eating homemade pancakes but switched to mix and *horrors* fake maple syrup (I’m cheap sometimes) when I went to university. My roommates don’t get the difference and have learned to just ignore me when I start rambling on about “proper pancakes”. But I’m home for the summer so this calls for proper pancakes with fresh blueberries and real maple syrup from the farm outside town. Yummy!

Thanks so much for this recipe! These are officially the best pancakes I’ve ever tried, even more than our favorite banana nut ones! We cannot find blueberries where we live; the closest substitute was a bag of frozen mixed berries, which actually were fantastic sprinkled on the batter. Even the first batch, which I accidentally burnt black, were so good that we nibbled them up while waiting for the second batch. My husband’s requesting “Wild berry pancakes” every weekend for eternity now. :)

I made these this morning and I was stunned at how good they turned out!

They remind me of the pancakes in the Netherlands, so rich and cakey and fluffy. I made a couple plain ones because I loved how the pancake itself tasted so much. I’m looking forward to leftovers this weekend.

Thank you so much for the recipe and the tips. I am now an amazing pancake maker. ;o)

Any idea on how to get the edges on your pancakes all crispy? I love love love when I go to restaurants and they have those crispy almost-fried edges, but I’ve never been able to replicate it. Do you need a special pan?

Hi Rebecca — I think the secrets are two-fold: the first is a lot of butter in the pan. That gives it that almost deep-fried looking edge. The second is whipping the egg whites separately, which I mentioned in the post. That can give the edges an extra crisp effect.

My mom also made pancakes with Schmisquick, so that’s how I’ve always made them. I gave yours a try this weekend though, and they were the best pancakes I’ve ever had. I couldn’t possibly go back now. Next time I’ll have to half that recipe though…

Homemade is the only way to go. I use the Cook’s Illustrated recipe from “The Best Recipe” cookbook which is similar to many recipes quoted above. My pancake advice — if you have the space, buy an electric griddle from Target for $20 as it cooks 8 pancakes at a time and you don’t run into problems with flipping them (I always mangle them in a frying pan). the griddle can also be used for making grilled cheese sandwiches for a crowd or for bacon. And for recipes like the CI recipe, you can do some of the work the night before — e.g. mix up the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in a second bowl, and just mix them together in the AM. Makes it much speedier, especially on Christmas morning!

MMMMMMM. These look wonderful!! :) I have to confess, though, I use a mix because I am both too impatient and too lazy to make them from scratch (and clean up my mess). However, I use the 10-grain mix from Bob’s Red Mill, so it has a little better flavor….. :) (Speaking of which, I have frozen blueberries in my freezer that are calling to me….)

I grew up with a mix. It’s from a local mill named New Hope Mills in Central New York. The “buttermilk” pancakes are very good for a mix. If your ever in Central NY pick up a bag and see. Of course I have a penchant for home made, so I’ll give this recipe a try, sounds great and I freak for buttermilk!

You need another comment here like you need a hole in your head. But I just have to say: I tried your tips, on my usual recipe, twice. I never knew I like pancakes so much. If someone had asked, “Do you know how to make good pancakes,” I would have snorted, “Please, I can make puff pastry and macarons! What’s to a pancake!” And yet, they were lousy. Only now do I realize this. Thank you for the gift of pancakes (and for a lesson in humility!)
FYI, the two tips that helped the most were the ones about not overmixing and using a low heat.

These look amazing. I’ve been wanting a new pancake recipe for some time. Will try these tomorrow. Was also reminded recently of an excellent, if unorthodox, addition to pancakes: mix sour cream with a bit of sugar; dollop on pancakes; pour real maple syrup over sour cream. Sounds odd, but it’s delicious. Even better if you layer sliced fruit (nectarines, kiwis, bananas, etc.) under the sour cream & sugar. This is how we had them growing up.

I made these for my grandmother this morning, who had, believe it or not never had blueberry pancakes. She also was once a bisquick devotee (when she still cooked). She loved them hopefully we have a new convert!

Since I’ve read this post, I can’t stop dreaming about these pancakes, and I’ve made them already far too many times than is wise in the summer Haifa heat. But I can’t stop! They are so fluffy! The tips are great, especially loved the idea of brushing the pan with the butter, and making them in advance and keeping warm in the oven. Although the second one will be much more enjoyable in winter, I’m SO looking forward to it! And believe it or not, I used to POUR (!) vegetable oil on a pan before. Now – less fat, more taste! Unbelievable! The pictures are great, BTW! And your pancakes look irresistible in their slight sloppiness. THANKS DEB!

Perhaps a better question would be why Mark Bittman has so little. ;) All jokes aside, I am noting this because I have made his basic pancakes before, and didn’t care for them. They lacked… something. These were perfect–you should try them.

Excellent recipe :)
We switched the buttermilk for yogurt, and did half ww flour, half ap and it still tasted good. The mark of an excellent recipe. You’ve really done your research – great tips and tricks.

I was sent this post by an American friend after telling her how dismally my Shrove Tuesday pancakes turned out. Don’t suppose you’ve ever tried the flat English version? If you have any advice much appreciated… Althoug,h I’m going to give the little fat, low heat combo a try next time, hopefully that’ll help.

I will so make those on Sunday morning.. I was looking around for a good pancake recipe. I lived in the states last year, and have fond memories of sunday mornings in my favorite cafe, having blueberry pancakes with maple sirup. Now I saw some maple sirup in my german natural foods supermarket, and since then I have a pancake craving. And, surprise, there’s even a leftover can of buttermilk in the fridge.. I’m looking forward to make those! They’ll be something different to my grandma’s German Pancakes, which I grew up with. And yes, you’re right: Why buy something ready-made when making things from scratch is so easy and fun? I never got that..

i love food;and even more so when im upset. my fiance was being not-so-great this weekend and ALL i was craving was pancakes, all weekend long! so i made pancakes for my self saturday night, from a recipe i found somewhere (who cares).i spit out the horrible SALTY disasters that looked like pancakes. my fiance ended up bringing me pancakes from IHOP, in attempt to console me and my pancake craving, as well as clear his butt. i ate 1 from the 10 he brought me (10? i didnt know he thought i could eat that much), they just didnt hit the spot. sunday morning, i woke up still craving pancakes and decided to give it a 2nd go. NOTHING. i wanted to make the lemon ricotta pancakes but had no ricotta, and was not leaving the house for it. made some other mess of a recipe i came across. looked heavenly and thick and fluffy, just how i like them. to bad they tasted like a mouthful of baking soda. and to top it off, i had NO syrup to drown out the awful taste, because my sister polished off the bottle the night before!! just horrible. so, ive had a horrible weekend, completely unsatisfied. now, i really really really want THESE pancakes, more than ever. the pictures are torturous and im just gonna have to promise myself to make them tomorrow.

I have a never fail recipe that I always turn to. They always turn out fabulously fluffy, even when I’ve substituted ingredients (and there are only a handful). I’ve used milk, skim milk, buttermilk, and evaporated milk. I’ve used melted butter when I was out of canola, and I’ve also made my own “sour milk” when I wanted buttermilk, but had none! Pancakes are fantastic for any meal! I also agree 100% with the way that you cook them. I set my stove (electric) between settings 3 and 4 and just let them take their time. They always turn out perfectly golden and fluffy. Yay for pancakes!

I thought I was destined to a lifetime of terrible pancakes, but I made these last weekend and they were delicious! The advice & tips were so helpful. Thank you so much! I’ve been eating on the leftover pancakes that I froze all week long and they are almost just as good as right off the griddle.

I love your website, Smitten—the photos are gorgeous, and the notes about what works and what doesn’t are helpful. I’m frequently inspired to cook something you feature!

But I’m wondering about something: do you ask for permission when you print recipes? I haven’t heard many bloggers discuss this delicate subject, but I’m curious. It seems relevant when the recipes aren’t available for free on the web. It’s true that cookbook authors get exposure, and might even benefit all things considered. But shouldn’t they have the choice?

Also, about attribution: is it really accurate to say that this recipe is “adapted” from the Martha Stewart recipe, when the only change is calling for kosher salt (or slightly less table salt) instead of just calling for salt? I don’t have her cookbook; I’m comparing it to the one online. Love the recipe, but calling it an adaptation seems like a stretch.

You provide tons of interesting and helpful information about recipes and technique—especially in this post!—so why not leave it at that?

Elisa — Bloggers discuss it all of the time. My friend David wrote a piece about recipe attribution that you might find helpful. It answers all of your questions. There were at least three things changed about this recipe, but even when I change ten things, I always still source the recipe I started from on this site.

This is my third recipe from this site, and my third success! I had some buttermilk to use up, and I couldn’t think of what to make until I remembered these pancakes. I made them plain topped with a little bit of butter and maple syrup. Fantastic! Thank you for helping me on my culinary journey! I’m trying the tomato and sausage risotto tomorrow :)

I confess that I grew up in a Bisquick-only household and never had pancakes from scratch, until now! This was my first time making pancakes without a mix and now I can NEVER go back! Thank you so much for this recipe, these pancakes are perfection.

Wow. This recipe just changed my life. I love blueberry pancakes and I’m a foodie, but typically avoid baking and recipes that require flour, baking soda, etc.. For some reason, I’ve been complacent with just Bisquick. This recipe is super easy and simply divine in terms of flavor. I’m converted.

I used some ricotta cheese instead of buttermilk to simply give it more of a rich creamy texture and it was great, peach slices can be a great alternative to the blueberries.

I made the blueberry pancakes this morning and they were absolutely perfect! I wouldn’t change a thing. I think they were the best pancakes I’ve ever had. Thanks for an easy, fast, and delicious recipe. I can’t wait to cook them for some company!

Not bad at all! My wife and I run a small country cafe and we both like your home cook recipe. I might suggest scalding your milk/buttermilk, having it around 82 degrees before mixing. it will boost leavening and therefore the cakes height. Also, try tapping your spatula on the grill while under the cake just before flipping it. This tightens the edges, eliminating lace, without effecting the rise. Keep swinging!

Another idea — I don’t know who’s heard this one before. My mom and I always used to say that the first pancake is for the birds. Somehow the pan becomes perfectly seasoned after the first one flops down. We “throw out” the first pancake of the bunch, and the rest tend to be very consistent.

I can only bet that this rule holds true for Mom and me because we’re obsessive cleaners. When it’s time to wash the dishes, we scrub our pans until they squeak. Each time we make pancakes, we have to re-season all over again.

I made this recipe this morning for breakfast, but I didn’t have enough buttermilk so I used 1.5 c buttermilk and 1.5 c sour cream and they came out great! I also beat the egg whites separately and folded them into the batter as the last step. They were the lightest, fluffiest pancakes I have ever made! Thanks, Deb!

I made these at 1am to cure my insomnia, and despite substituting the buttermilk for a combination of rice and soy milk (I was running out of both!), the pancakes tasted amazing, and made my pregnant wife very happy when she woke up this morning. Thank you.

I’m a bit confused, which is pretty normal for me so maybe I’m missing something. In the tips you say to have the pan at medium low heat but the recipe calls for medium high. Is the medium high just to get it hot and then it should be turned down? I’m making these now so any response will be late for me, but I will likely make them in the future. Thanks!

A friend made these this weekend on a camping trip and I almost swooned they were so good. After33 years of life and about 20 of cooking, I have finally ceased my search for a pancake recipe. One of my life’s desires has been granted. Thank you, Smitten.

Your childhood pancake story is so similar to mine, though my father was the master pancaker and our recipe was from a Betty Crocker cookbook that is being held together with duct tape at the moment. My best friend’s mother made Biscuit pancakes which were actually delicious (she added a splash of vinegar), and I was always guaranteed a two pancake weekend if I spent Saturday nights at her house, my father made pancakes on Saturday mornings and her mother on Sunday mornings. Makes me want pancakes for dinner.

Those pancakes look delicious. I will definitely have to make them. My kids are crazy about pancakes. I do have to confess that during the holidays when we head up to the ski resort I cheat a little by bringing Batter Blaster – it’s organic pancake batter in a can – sprays like whipped cream. I add berries so it looks homemade.

I have been on this kick of eating breakfast foods for supper lately and tonight I was in the mood for pancakes, namely blueberry. Now I am no culinary genius and usually my pancakes are more like funnel cakes, floating in a pan of butter and dense as can be. Fortunately for me, and the batter, on this very night thanks to the knowledge gained from your blog I made the VERY BEST pancakes I have EVER had!

I will never ‘fry’ my pancakes in 1/2 stick of butter again and I will always cook them sllloooowwllyyy.

So i know other people have posted recipes about storing the dry mix and adding the wet ingredients later… is that possible with this recipe? Also i use dry buttermilk because i always found myself throwing out rancid buttermilk, if i can make and store the dry mix would i add in the dry milk then or when i am actually making the pancakes?

I do love blueberry pancakes! They were a staple recipe in my house growing up. But my dad used stone ground whole wheat flour (we called it the “special” flour), which added a whole lot of deliciousness and worked so well with the blueberry flavor.

Very often, in the wee hours of the morning, while nursing my 3-month old, I cruise your recipes and am so inspired, in spite of my constant state of tiredness. This morning I ran to get buttermilk at the store and came back and whipped these pancakes up. Simply wonderful! Thanks!

This batter was delicious. I found that I had to cook the second side longer than 1 minute, because it was still underdone after 1 minute on a 375 griddle. I think the blueberries were so large that they were hindering the cooking, but I am still new to pancakes. Every time I make pancakes I try to hone my skills. :)

I just made these because a friend was coming for breakfast, i did the whole beating the egg whites till stiff. Let me tell you, FABULOUS!
It tasted light and beautiful and crisp around the edges like you said. She said they were amazing. we added shaved Belgian chocolate (i was out of chips and chocolate over fruit anyway!) thanks a bunch!

Hi!!! I’m from Mexico, blueberries are not that popular here, actualy most of the people never use it… The berries here are totally under rated, just a few are used here like strawberries, blackberries and now… cranberries… Anyway i Love berries but my husband doesn’t… i tried this pancakes today and let me tell you he loveeeeeeeeeeeeed it and my baby too… they were so perfect, i cant believe it!!! Perfect recipe, I used 1/2 cup less buttermilk though… Thanx for sharing!!! It made my sunday morning!!!

Just felt like a blueberry pancake and bacon dinner night tonight. These were delicious! My parents just finished making their first batch of maple syrup this spring and it was a perfect addition! Who said pancakes are for breakfast?!?

I just made these for a sunday morning breakfast and i substitued yoghurt for the buttermilk like you said. i used a mix of milk and yoghurt, as i thought yoghurt might be a bit thick, and halved the recipe, but to my disappointment they were quite goopy in the middle. cooked, but still that slightly goopy squidgy uncooked sort of feel. i had the pan on the lowest possible heat, and would keep the pancakes on until they were dark brown both sides, but they remained oddly textured inside. why is this??

I just made these wonderful little gems, husband said they were the best he’s ever had, I think he is right! I didn’t have enough buttermilk, just one cup, I added regular 2% milk and they were wonderful! I added my blueberries frozen and wow, what a great little pancake! Will defiantly make these again and again!

I am a pancake and waffle lover, I would eat it everyday if i was not a diabetic(:, I always order blueberry pancakes when go out to eat breakfast but i have never tried to make them myself. I’m glad I found this article, i’ll be trying this recipe this weekend (i’ll try it on my wife first). If it comes out good, the next time I make it I’ll tweak it a little to make waffles.

Question deb! i’ve been seeing souffle pancakes on menus (i read menus for fun, lame i know) and i have no idea how they are different from the recipe where u beat the egg whites…is it just a fancy name? or something special?

It will really depend on the recipe. They may be taking an actual souffle batter or just using the word souffle as code for light and airy… Either way, however, whipped egg whites are probably involved.

Hi again… I made these incredible pancakes AGAIN yesterday, used the 3 cups of buttermilk and I have to say, this is the BEST PANCAKE RECIPE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH! They were crispy on the outside, tender blueberry on the inside, perfect! Love, love, love your site… :)

These are phenomenal. I made them for my Mom on Mother’s Day and served them to her in bed. She thought they were awesome. I normally hate blueberry pancakes, but I used some really delicious frozen berries in this recipe, and I now love blueberry pancakes! They’re also delicious cold… I found they were almost like doughnuts straight out of the fridge. I served these with caramelized bananas on top. The combination of bananas and blueberries was fantastic, and we had plenty of leftovers for the next day’s breakfast (and a few noshes in between.)

I just made these for my boyfriend….but because he still has the preferences of a five year old, I used chocolate chips instead of blueberries. His eyes lit up and he said “these are gooood”, and then reached for another. Yes yes…thank you so much!

i’ve noticed the batter was a bitt runny for me too. i cut the butter milk by 1 cup and was just fine. slightly denser, more cake-y pancakes. but not heavy in any way. i also add nutmeg and a little vanilla to mine. just a touch really.

OMGGGGG pre pancake thoughts (we’re making them in the morning), we’re very excited, salivating! It looks delicious. Will be sure to post afterwards to let you know how it goes. My friend is even gonna wake up early and take the blueberries out of the freezer in time for brunch when we make them! Woah! Did someone say different shapes? Monster and heart shapes! That’s how we roll. xx

OMMGGGGGG post pancake thoughts and pointers; woah woah woah i’m still full 7 hours later. lol. we had them with mascapone cheese, honey and nutella. 4 each! Pointers for eating a lot of them: you need to switch what kind of topping you use to confuse your stomach, too much sweet makes you sick sick sick, try it with some lemon and sugar, boom! stomach confused and you can eat more haha. Also use a tea spoon to help flip. Also a cute australian boy to help doesn’t go astray either hehehe xx

I made these and they were delicious! I was a bit unsure of how they would turn out at first because the batter came out a bit more runny than pancakes I have made before. Delicious! My husband said they were the best pancakes he’s ever eaten! This recipe will go into my recipe box and I will use it over and over. Thanks!

Just made these last night to use up some leftover buttermilk. They were fantastic! I used the full 3 cups of buttermilk, and my pancakes were NOT runny…not sure why others said theirs were. I put blueberries in mine, but my husband and son wanted plain and both versions were wonderful. This is now my go-to pancake recipe. Thanks Deb!

Just made these, damned good. I used less butter, about 2 T, threw in some fresh ground whole wheat and some sourdough starter too. I am hoping that the starter will help keep the batter in the fridge, kicking in when the soda loses its umph. we’ll see.

My mom made wheat germ/yogurt/whole wheat flour pancakes with “real” maple syrup when I was little. I despised these and LOVED going to my best friend’s house for sleepovers because her mom used Bisquick and Log Cabin. Today, I make a version of my mom’s pancakes, but my girls prefer my husbands’…he uses that Joy recipe and lots of butter on the griddle.

hi–first things first. i love your blog, with several of your recipes some family faves and standards.
now on to the second and shameful thing: i’ve tried and tried and tried this recipe and am still not getting pancakes in your pics. So a couple of questions:
1. i’m halving the recipe and not using buttermilk so want to know if that’s what is making the difference
2. the batter just seems so thin (and i’m keeping in the lumps). i even reduced the amount of milk because the first time it was more like a crepe. today it was still quite runny reducing the milk by a third. So i’m not getting the nice thick pancakes even once they’re cooked–they are thin and a bit limp (and frankly disappointing).

I have another version of this recipe on the site, with corn in them, and some people also had issues with a thin batter. The prevailing theory was that it was because they were not using buttermilk, which is thicker.

I don’t get it, I followed this recipe exactly and checked some of the comments before I started too, but my batter was the consistency of very runny soup. I had to add a ton more flour because I was ending up with pancakes that were flat as a piece of paper. Any suggestions?

Okay, I just read the comment you posted (#199) and I see that my batter was super liquidy because I used “fake buttermilk” (milk and vinegar). I knew it was user-error on my part because all my smitten kitchen recipes come out perfect!

Tasty tasty! We ate them with concord grape jam we canned last fall (still so many jars to eat up). I sense a lot of pancake and jam breakfasts coming on! Oh, and I used about half the butter, and I replaced 1/2 cup of the flour with cornmeal. Next time I think I’ll try 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup cornmeal.

Ok, from the Joy of cooking recipe I mixed the eggs, butter, etc in a seperate bowl and when adding it to the dry ingredients there were chunks of something at the bottom of the wet stuff… I tried this multiple times – is the cold buttermilk and gees re-hardening the butter? Is this ok?

Always drove me crazy in the Joy recipe too! Happened every time. Two theories: eggs are curdling because I think it has you add melted butter? But doesn’t suggest you cool it first? It’s been a while since I checked it out so I cannot remember. Second theory: it’s just the melted butter seizing up in a cool batter. You can try a “bit” and see which it tastes like.

Just made these pancakes this morning and am a little obsessed now. I can’t even tell you how many times I kept saying ” these are REEEEEALLY good!!!”. We halved the recipe since it was just me and my husband and it was the perfect amount. Added frozen blueberries and thought it was just fine.

We had the butter scrambling the eggs problem at first but then just added a tiny bit of the buttermilk and egg mixture to the butter to cool it and then added the butter into the mixture. then added the dry ingredients in. Worked like a charm.

I’m in high school and like almost every teenager I hate waking up early! But I must say Deb…you’ve given me a reason to actually WANT to wake up and cook these very scrumptios looking blueberry pancakes!!!! Thanks so much : )

Just wanted to share that I’ve found the PERFECT buttermilk substitution for this recipe – half plain yogurt (I used nonfat) and half whole milk. They are awesome! I used to make these all the time, then moved to Brazil, where we don’t have buttermilk at the grocery. Kept trying with milk and vinegar/lemon or whatever, but they were so thin and not the same at all. With the yogurt and milk combo, they are amazing. I made them a couple of days ago and might have to do it again tomorrow. Thanks for all your hard work, Deb, it is so appreciated.

Love the blog – as you might be able to tell because it is the end of 2010 and I am commenting on an entry from 2008, I have spent the past week reading and dreaming about cooking many of your recipes!

Had to comment on this one. My mom is the exact same way; she makes pancakes from a recipe that her mother used and definitely made me into a pancake snob!

Just tried this recipe and the Buttermilk Pancakes were out of this world, I put a little dash of cinnamon on mine with a half a cup of oatmeal and wheat flour, but the result was one in the same outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This recipe is OUT OF THIS WORLD! I have finally made delicious pancakes at home! My family is crazy for them. They second time I made them, I replaced 1 cup of all purpose flour with whole wheat and they were just as delicious!

these came out really terrible. I tried them twice, and I followed the recipe 100% both times but they turned out lumpy, runny, eggy, and the frozen blueberries I used (which usually turn Aunt Jemima pancakes purple) turned them green. I’m really disappointed. I think I’m just gonna go back to Aunt Jemima after this.

Were you using a baking powder with aluminum in it? Aluminum has a reaction with acidic fruits like berries that will cause the green/blue color. The runniness may — though I cannot be sure — be from liquid that melted off the frozen berries.

Tried to make these this morning. I’m sure I followed the measurements precisely but the batter was VERY thin and didn’t seem to cook right. 3 cups of buttermilk seems like a lot. I can’t figure out what I did wrong.

I made these for supper this evening after we gave up on the cabane-a-sucre when we were told there was a two hour wait! Not feasible with three kids in tow. I didn’t have buttermilk, so used one cup of 1% plain yogourt and 2 cups of 1% milk. Otherwise, I followed the recipe. The pancakes were light and fluffy with crispy edges – perfect! Thanks again.

Although this is an old post, I often use it as a refresher when I haven’t made pancakes in awhile… (I was eating lots of eggs, over the winter.) So I made half this recipe this evening, with 3/4 c AP flour + 1/4 c cornmeal and whipped egg white — and used strawberries, since I love the way they caramelize. I’ve made this recipe several times before, but I’ve never had SUCH an odd experience as this evening. The pancakes are light in texture, but almost crumbly! i.e. they never really formed that pancake-disk shape, just fell apart. Almost as if there wasn’t enough to bind the batter together, although I’m almost 100% positive I didn’t forget any ingredients. Any ideas? I brushed my cast iron skillet really lightly with butter, maybe I needed more?

Just made these with fresh blueberries from the CSA and I have to say, they were a complete success! The pancakes were the most tender and well-formed I have ever cooked. I think I’ve always overmixed in the past, so I followed your example and left lumps (maybe the size of popcorn kernels). Thanks for the recipe and the expertise in pancake-making. Now I just need something to take the edge off my sugar high!

Ok, I did a google search for “most delicious blueberry pancake recipe” and I came upon your blog. I can honestly say that these were the most AMAZING pancakes I’ve ever eaten! Try adding a few mini chocolate chips for more of a dessert pancake, its literally a flavor explosion in your mouth! Thanks for the recipe!

This was amazing ! and so easy I’ve never made pancakes from scratch before until today. I’ve succeeded! thank you for sharing this recipe! I didn’t have enough buttermilk so I substituted normal milk instead and used plain flour instead of all-purpose flour and they still turned out absolutely delicious !

I was super excited to see your new blueberry pancake post. I’ve been recently struggling/experimenting with your [awesome, addictive] blueberry pancake recipe as well!! I also found it to be a bit too liquid-y, plus I wanted a healthier pancake that was a viable weekday breakfast option. Here’s what I’ve recently tried, with increasing success: I reduced the buttermilk by 1/2 cup, which helped the liquid issue, reduced the sugar by 1 tbs, and substituted 1 1/2 cups of spelt flour for white. I did keep the other 1/2 cup of white flour. I’ve recently fallen in love with spelt because it’s super high in fiber AND protein (happy surprise to me), and so far I’ve had good success using it as a white flour substitute. I also recently made these without access to spelt, so I added 1/2 cup of oats and reduced the flour by 1/2 cup minus 2 tbs. They were great.

A bit of a disappointment. The batter was extremely thin and tasted of flour + buttermilk. Nothing more sophisticated. Is the recipe really supposed to read 3 c buttermilk to 2 c flour? Most pancake recipes have a 1:1 ratio.

I used to hate making pancakes because they never turned out good. Then, someone from a forum gave me a trusted recipe and the most useful tip I ever got for pancake frying – never oil the non-stick pan. I trusted her advice and true enough, my pancakes turned out well :) They were perfectly browned on both sides. So, I would not oil the pan.

Made these this morning (exactly as specified, buttermilk, correct kind of baking powder, etc) and they were much too flat. Less buttermilk, as some have suggested, would surely help. This is the first time I’ve made a recipe from SK that did not turn out perfectly.

I can’t believe I’ve never seen this post! What great tips! I never realized you shouldn’t overmix the batter…. that would explain all those flat-as-a-pancake pancakes. And the temperature thing… I never really got that either.
I made them – subbed yogurt for buttermilk, and one cup whole wheat pastry flour for AP (the other cup AP). They were SO good. Fluffy and delicious. I can’t even detect the whole wheat in them. My kids each ate at least 5. I ran out of blueberries towards the end, so was forced to use chocolate chips instead.
Thank you!!

Hi there,
thanks a lot for the general instructions how to make pancakes and the recipe as such. I came across it when I was looking for an ‘American style’ pancake recipe. I tried it out with blueberries, substituting the buttermilk with normal milk; also, I decided to whip the egg white seperately and put it into the batter after stirring the other ingerdients. The pancakes came out very well and were my personal reward after 5 kilometers running on a Saturday morning ;-)

Growing up my mom’s pancakes were always dense and little rubbery and now that’s how I prefer them. Haha. I associate fluffy pancakes with instant pancakes. I can never get my pancakes as dense as hers (maybe due to the difference in elevation between where we both live?) but now I’ll try to over-mix the batter. :) Going to try it right now!

I had leftover buttermilk from your yellow cake w/ chocolate sour cream frosting recipe I made a couple nights ago (big hit.) So I made these pancakes for a friend this morning. I’d never made pancakes from scratch and imagined it would be too many steps, but not the case! I grew up on Shmisquick, was obsessed really from age 7 to 17, nearly every morning for breakfast. I don’t think I’ll be going back. Silly me though, I’m reading all your tips after fact since I was in a hurry and scrolled straight for the recipe. I’m learning so much about cooking and baking from your blog. Thanks you!

PS- any ideas on how to open a sealed jar of jam? The rubber seal is old and breaks off when I attempt to pull it out from between the glass.

Tess, that’s hilarious! My recipe is pretty similar to this one, but it uses 2 cups of buttermilk instead of 3. I used to make leaden pancakes until I started buying buttermilk. I buy it by the half gallon (as big as it’s sold around here), in part because I also have a fried chicken recipe that calls for soaking the chicken in buttermilk for 15 minutes, then dip it in flour, and deep fry it (It’s supposed to work for pan frying too).
I’m a mix snob, too. I was dismayed when my children reported that my mother (MY mother!!!!) used pancake mix to make pancakes. She never used to.

Thanks for your blog, Deb! I just ran across it today, and it’s been fascinating reading! Pancake snobs unite!

I know this will sound strange to most however; I like my pancakes less fluffy and more chewy than most, BUT I can Not figure out how to accomplish this. from scratch or from box, my cakes are always too fluffy and airy. more eggs? less eggs? I just don’t know, please help. Thank you, Larry

I can always count on you to have just the recipe I need and know that it will be just right! I have been making my pankcakes from scratch for a while, but not buttermilk. I bought butter milk for the first time when I made apple cider doughnuts last week. My boys (and I) say thank you! Going to try this nowbut I have to tell you, I was laughing out loud when I read about you being a pancake snob! My mother did not cook when I was growing up, perhaps my obsession with cooking now that I have my own family? Anyway, was cracking up, because my son has started to shun certain things at resturaunts(” I like it better the way you make it”) and pancakes from IHOP are one of those things. I know how your mother felt! Snob away my son!

PLEASE HELP!
I went through MANY posts, all declaring how great these are, but mine never turn out. I have been using this recipe for years because it tastes better than any other recipe I’ve tried, but never get the right texture. I can’t find another recipe that gives me a light, fluffy, sorta-like-a-cupcake interior either, so I have no reason to switch. All recipes with reviews of “light & fluffy” never worked that way for me. Unfortunately, my parents use a mix for their annual pancake breakfast & the texture is always perfect, the way I want mine to be. Mine are still too wet inside, whether I cook them lower for longer, or higher thinking the heat will cook the moisture. They are also pretty flat. Other than beating the egg white separately, what else can I do to make sure the inside is light, airy & done – like a pan”cake”? I wouldn’t make such a plea for help except that I love pancakes & am tired of inventing new “tweaks” in vain.

@Tracy — First things first, are you waiting until the little bubbles form before you flip the pancake? For me, when I get impatient and flip before the pancake is ready, I always end up with gooey, raw pancake innards.

Are you keeping the pan on the low side of medium?

Also, what’s the elevation where you’re cooking? Could that be an issue?

These were the fluffiest pancakes I’ve eaten in the 11 years I’ve lived in the US. My box of frozen blueberries turned out to be frozen black currants. They were a little too tart for my 2-year old, but for me it was heaven! Seriously though, when I read your posts, I feel like I’m standing next to my mom and watch her cook.

I love these pancakes, but lacking a good reason to buy buttermilk, I’ve always used the substitute of regular milk + vinegar. But they’re still amazing!
Anyway, I recently bought some cultured buttermilk and tried this recipe with the “real” stuff. Unfortunately, the batter was far too thick, almost like the consistency of yogurt. I had to thin it out with an extra 1/3c buttermilk to get a pour-able batter.
So is this the fault of the buttermilk brand I got? I got it for making biscuits and those turned out very well. I can always go back to milk+vinegar, but just wondering why this didn’t work right…

Hey everybody…yes, I too an of the “unsayable word” family. My mother ALWAYS made “scratch” pancakes, and I simply can’t eat any other kind…seriously…
So…after reading through all the posts… (yes, I did…) Let me offer some thoughts on consistency. There are many different brands of buttermilk, some thin, and some thick. Some are almost like yogurt. Your pancake consistency will depend on the consistency of the buttermilk. Also, some folks measure differently than others. Always spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level with a knife. Don’t tap the cup. Use a tad more baking powder than called for, and if you separate the eggs like Deb says, your ‘cakes will be so fluffy.
Its New Year’s Day and my husband wanted blueberry pancakes for breakfast. So, off I go to the internet to get this recipe, cut in half for the two of us. Problem…no buttermilk. OK, so, I used all the half and half I had and 8 ounces of Greek-style yogurt, and beat them together. Got exactly 1 and 1/2 cups of liquid. I added a tad more baking powder and used brown sugar instead of white, but did everything else the same. Mercy, mercy, mercy… incredible. Amazing taste, fluffy and creamy-flavored with a hint of tang from the yogurt. My husband pronounced them perfection… so, I’m of the “impatient pancake” family, but this time I used a lower heat with the melted butter swished on the pan. Perfection. We had easy over eggs, turkey italian sausage patties, and these lovely ‘cakes. What an amazing way to start the New Year. Recommend this recipe 100%.

So, I know this post is like forever old and maybe no one will read my comment but I gotta post about this!.

I made these for breakfast this weekend and they were amazing. I consider myself a fairly decent cook but I have never been able to make pancakes at home without them being not very good. These were amazing. I think the trick was I have always stirred the batter until there are no lumps. This time I stirred till there were medium sized lumps and they were delish. I also recently got a griddle pan which helps I think.

Incase anyone doesn’t have buttermilk on hand please feel free to sub in greek yogurt or sourcream. We did 1/2 almond milk and 1/2 yogurt to make the 3 cups of buttermilk.

Anyways, these were awesome and I made the entire batch and froze the leftovers for quick weekday breakfast or for a lazy weekend brunch!

Thank you so much for posting all these super helpful tips on making pancakes!

Like you, Raechel, i just made these. They are incredible! I didn’t even spread them with butter, as I usually do. When I needed a blueberry pancake recipe, this site is the first place I came.
Deb, thanks for a wonderful blog, and I’m looking forward to your book.

I had leftover buttermilk from the recent buttermilk roasted chicken recipe on this website and thought I would give these a try! These pancakes were INCREDIBLE. I always made pancakes from a high quality mix (such as Bob’s Red Mill Organic 7 Grain Pancake/Waffle mix) and they were “okay” – but I didn’t realize what I was missing! Thanks for the great recipe. I used frozen raspberries and some chocolate chips to add to the mix. Very light, fluffy and delicious pancakes.

This recipe came out really milky foor some reason, we had to add like an extra cup of flour to get it be thick enough to even begin to resemble crepe batter, much less pancake batter. Did we do something wrong?

Deb, you are my heroine. I no longer have any use for the rest of the internet for my food-related ideas, fantasies, and recipes. I come straight to you! These were the best pancakes I have ever made. In case anyone would like to know, I subbed whole wheat pastry flour for the ap flour and it worked beautifully.

I discovered your website from Tastebook.com and am so happy that I did!! Your recipes, commentary and pictures are just wonderful. I made these pancakes for the kids this morning and they were light and fluffy and awesome. My son refused butter or syrup, he just gobbled up the pancakes. :) We’re in central asia, no buttermilk so I used kefir instead. We’re looking forward to blueberry and strawberry season!
I followed your advice about the lumpy batter and delegated the task to my 4 year old. Perfection! :)

Just found your site – so great! I had to laugh when I read your comments about your Mom’s copy of the Joy of Cooking. Mine is exactly the same! Stained and the books falls open to that very page every time we use it. I married a pancake snob and had to learn how to make pancakes from scratch. Now we will never go back!! :)

Just made these for mothers day – wow – delicious!!
should have looked here years ago for a decent pancake recipe – thinner but oh so moreish – will definitely be using this from now on – thanks… again :)

Question: In the tips section it says low to medium heat, but in the directions section it says medium-high heat. Why the different instructions?

These did not work well for me. I don’t have access to buttermilk so I made it by adding lemon juice to milk and letting it sit. But when added to the other ingredients, I ended with a 2 layer liquid with minor curdling on top. I still tried to make them as I didn’t want to toss out the batter, but it was so thin I ended up with crepes not pancakes. I think next time I’ll just use regular milk instead, but maybe less than 3 cups so the batter won’t be so thin.

Hi Susan — Ugh, sorry about that. It wasn’t to intentionally confuse. I do find that these pancakes, because they’re thinner, can be done a little higher but I’d say medium. I made a thicker, wholegrain blueberry pancake last summer that I hope may also be of interest to you.

I tried these this week and they were fabulous! I’ve typically shied away from making pancakes because they were always so dense (kind of like making and eating lead balloons) but this recipe and the tips on how to make them lighter are great!

Thank you for the recipe and tips! As I love blueberries these will be a staple in kitchen (and freezer!).

Like an earlier poster, I too think this pancake is a bit ‘eggy’. I suspected this as I mixed it and saw the egg color overpowered the batter – becoming a very yellow color instead of my usual pancakey ‘beige’. But at least I know I got a bit more protein this morning instead of the carb heavy typical pancake! So this is a good option for those who think they need a ‘low carb diet’, I would guess. Protein from the egginess and the sour cream….

That being said, they were super fast to make and incredibly light and fluffy, I took care not to overmix as you suggested. They were MUCH, MUCH lighter (like a feather, I wold even say) than my usual healthier pancakes (from a cooking light recipe). So it was a nice treat! But, would it make sense to use just 1 egg instead of 2? Or blend the two together and use only 3/4 of the resulting egg mixture??

Made these this morning for breakfast and they were absolutely incredible! Thanks for posting. I just got married and pancakes are my husband’s favorite, so I was very much appreciative of the lesson and the recipe. Best pancakes he’s ever had!

I have to agree with what Susan said–I think the liquid to dry ratio is a little too high on these (it struck me as odd but I went with it, given the comments describing them as fluffy!) They spread really quickly, even when barely mixed, and still later when I added more flour and mixed it more thoroughly. In both instances I ended up with unpleasantly flat and dense pancakes. A 1-to-1 ratio of milk/egg mixture to flour mixture gave me much fluffier results. Maybe I’m at too different an altitude from you? Hah! I don’t know… either way I normally have great success with the recipes you post, so I’ll pick up some whole wheat flour to try the yogurt recipe some other time.

Wonderful pancakes, I halved the recipe and they were nice and fluffy and not too thick or thin or leaden. I did use real buttermilk, I am increasingly convinced that it makes a noticeably superior product. I don’t think you get the same result with milk + vinegar.

I realize this is an incredibly old post, but this part just warmed my heart and brought back so many childhood memories: “Mom made pancakes at least a couple weekends a month, and was loyal to the Joy of Cooking recipe, a page so batter-stained and grimy, I am pretty sure the book falls open to it even when the red ribbon isn’t at that page, which is never.”

That pretty much describes my mom and her beloved Joy of Cooking book. Except I’m not “pretty sure” it falls open to the pancake page, I’m certain of it. It is now my go-to recipe. I’ve modified it a bajillion different ways, whole wheat flour, almond meal, soy or almond milk, fruit, the possibilities are endless, and they’re always flawless. I used to find the recipe online, but finally got around to getting my own copy of the book, and that recipe was one the main reasons.

I just don’t get why anyone would make pancakes from a mix. Most of them require eggs, oil, and milk anyways. How much harder is it to measure three more ingredients? Even my otherwise health-freak roommate, was using Trader Joe’s whole grain pancake mix last night. Just use whole grain flour! Why are pancakes such a mystery?!?!?!

Tried these this morning and they were spectacular.I didn’t have to change a thing.They were so light and fluffy!I wrapped up the leftovers and put them in the fridge.They felt like little round pillows.Smitten you’ve done it again!I will never be able to use another packaged pancake mix, not while this recipe exists.I may not be able to eat pancakes at the local diner anymore…they can’t compete.

Making these for the first time right now. I omitted the blueberries but made a blueberry compote to pour over the top. I like to sometimes make homemade whipping cream for the top on special occasions…so good. We are however obsessed with your blueberry, lemon, yogurt pancakes. I make those all summer long when fresh blueberries are in season, my husband and two little boys love them! Thank you!!!

Instead of melting the butter (which works fine as a waffle recipe) I use frozen butter, dice it with a knife (carefully) and throw it in a food processor with dry ingredients and buzz until crumbly. Then mix w/ eggs and well shaken chilled buttermilk. Results are flaky, fluffy and crisp on edges even on pam sprayed electric griddle. Have also eliminated white flour in favor of mixture of white whole wheat, quinoa flour, almond meal flour, brown rice flower and oatmeal. Brown sugar adds a different twist as well.

Followed the recipe exactly and convinced hubby that heat needed to be on the low side of medium. Disappointed in results. Pancakes not thick enough. Tasted good tho. Other recipes call for equal amounts of flour and buttermilk. I will try this recipe again but scale the buttermilk back to 2-1/2 cups.

Hi Deb, just wanted to let you know that the link to the list of pancake recipes takes me to the new blueberry yogurt multigrain pancake recipe instead. It seems you may have linked to that recipe twice by mistake – thought you may want to fix it.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the pancake 101! For the first time in my entire kitchen career, the first pancakes on the griddle (which normally go from griddle to trash without passing “Go”) were as delicious as the last ones.

I don’t know under what rock I’ve been living, but I only just discovered your blog after hearing your NPR interview, and I’m thrilled to have done so. As a vegetarian, I rarely check food blogs that aren’t specifically vegetarian, but yours is so super veggie-friendly and chock full of recipes that don’t contain ingredients I have to trek atop a guru’s mountain to acquire (a common problem with vegan blogs).

Followed every step – including the special whipping of egg whites and trusted your wisdom on lumps, sooo much liquid compared to four, and got the best pancake I think I’ve ever made. Thank you, thank you!!!

I was really excited to try this recipe after seeing all the good reviews. I ended up really disappointed with the results, though this was admittedly the first time I’ve ever tried making pancakes. I used milk + lemon juice since I didn’t have buttermilk, and beat the egg whites separately, hoping for that fluffiness. The batter seemed extremely runny, but I stopped mixing as soon as the lumps looked like they could be considered “medium”. The batter was so runny that my first pancake ended up almost as flat as a crepe, and with small chunks of unmixed flour!

I have a few ideas as to what I should do differently next time, including using real buttermilk and mixing all of the wet ingredients and sugar together first. I just can’t imagine how a recipe that looks so simple could turn out so horribly wrong!

Hi, Deb! First, I loved meeting you in Chicago, and wish we had more time to hang out. I wanted to ask you about a pancake shortcut. I have nearly 9 month old twins at home, love homemade pancakes, but find the two ( well, three!) don’t mix well, especially when we are hungry on Saturday or Sunday morning. Would it be possible to make my own “bisquick” mix with this or other pancake recipes? Just mix and store the dry ingredients together, say in the freezer? Then, I would only have to add in the wet ingredients, and, voila, pancakes! I wasn’t sure of the baking soda/powder would react. Just trying to find shortcuts to have what I love-pancakes, time with my babies, and sanity! Well, maybe not the sanity. Any suggestions would be more than welcomed! Thanks!

Fantastic tips! I’m a budding pancake maker as my kids are suddenly on a pancake craze and I figure it’s better so send them to school full of pancakes than full of highly-sugared cereal. I’d been having issues with the fact that they seemed pretty flat, but now thatnks to your hints, I’m pretty sure I know where I’ve been going wrong (too much mixing, griddle too hot). Thanks!

These pancakes look really great ! I have one question though that you might be able to answer : I don’t have baking powder, just baking soda. Do you know if I could substitute baking powder for anything else ?
Thanks for the wonderful recipes !

We make this recipe in our house almost every weekend. The kids find the book mark and will gather all the ingredients together and drag us out of bed. Unfortunately, we don’t ALWAYS have buttermilk on hand (I will use raw milk instead), but my teenaged stepson says they are infinitely better when we do LOL!

These are perfect. First attempt in a hot frying pan and they practically melted in my mouth. Buttermilk was new to me and now I’ll never go back. Didn’t have enough blueberries for the batter so made a quick rhubarb sauce to top them instead. Thank you for the recipe and for making my morning!

Hi there :) I have two questions I hope you can answer:
1) is it possible to make the batter and keep it in the fridge to make for later? have you tried that? I have to make it for a large group of people so wondering if I can do it in advance
2) How many people do 16 pancakes (4inches) serve?

I made these in Europe visiting my mother. With a side of bananas foster (yum) since I had no blueberries. WOMP WOMP! I just wanted to cry looking at them. First I used 00 flour, then substituted milk. I am waiting on the batter to puff up, but nothing… NADA. That’s nice…
Then the only way I could make them is in my mom’s very expensive smart stove (which apparently uses a touch screen to turn on an off) WHY??? So the element kept going on and off. At the lowest setting the cakes were rubbery. The kind of cakes that you wouldn’t serve your worst enemy. Increasing the heat to a medium produced pancakes that were browned to a crisp charr! My poor husband ate them and said they were good but not great (good man!) Blah… I am gonna go and think how awesome these cakes would be had I made them in the good old USA.
Any ideas on how to make pancakes on dysfunctional European stoves?

Hi Sil — It may have been the plain milk. Baking soda needs an acidic ingredient to activate it. Buttermilk is acidic; plain milk is not. So, next time, you can make a “fake” buttermilk like so (just acidulated milk) and you should get a little more puff.

Ironically, nearly two years ago today, I wrote a poem about this exact sentiment and the experience of growing up and making pancakes from scratch. I almost feel as if I’ve stolen your details, down to the red ribbon, even though I’ve just discovered this post now. I revel and share your pancake snobbery, and love that the Joy of Cooking recipe and the experience of family breakfast is so universal. Thank you for sharing.

I’ve been reading some comments and I had the same problem several others did with the batter being too runny and ending up with crepes that couldn’t even hold the blueberries. I then added extra flour and they puffed up a little more, but still didn’t look right. Any ideas where I could have gone wrong? They were still delicious and my fiance said he preferred them this way, but I’d still like to know how I can make them fluffy.

Yah, nice recipe. Passed on the extra butter in the batter and used some vegetal oil for the pan and they came out pretty nicely. I certainly enjoy butter, don’t get me wrong, but I like being able to look down and see my toes each morning like I could when I was in high school.

Instead of buttermilk, I used a mix of non-fat and some heavy cream which…well, it was what I had in the fridge, so…

I’m late to this pancake party. I made these little blueberry babies for this first time this morning and they were fantastic! I chose the recipe specifically because it had three cups of buttermilk, to use up what I had on hand. At first mix, I thought the batter might be too thin, but then I let it sit for a few minutes and it was bubbly and perfect. Thanks for all your great work, Deb!

I posted earlier about my batter being too runny and now I have a solution. Real Buttermilk. I used a substitute ( skim milk and lemon juice ) before and today I used the real thing. It made all the difference in the world.

Made these this morning for my son and hubby (and myself, of course). Had 21/2 cups buttermilk and just topped it off with regular whole milk. Delicious!! I love fluffy pancakes and my husband likes them thin — this was the best of both worlds. Next time I may add some lemon zest as I love the blueberry + lemon combo. Thanks, Deb!

Costco recently carried your cookbook. I fell in love with the pictures and after reading a few pages of your wit, decided to buy it. Finding out you have a blog to explore makes things even better – I’ll never run out of reading material! Thanks Deb, I hope your family appreciate your talents.

I followed this recipe to the letter, and I don’t know why I keep having this problem, but the batter was still too thin. Not sure what I’m doing wrong, but I’m still searching for the perfect fluffy pancakes recipe.

I’ve tried these twice with a halved recipe and they were really good, although they seemed to be a totally different texture than yours! I found the batter to be very thin which made for thin pancakes, kind of midway between a crepe and what I see in your photos here. Yours have the nice puffiness that mine didn’t have at all. I didn’t use real buttermilk but rather milk soured with a bit of white vinegar – maybe this made the difference? Or the fact that I halved the recipe? Anyway the second time I tried them with a gluten-free all purpose flour and they turned out well too!

I made 2 half batches of these (one regular, one gluten free). No buttermilk and needed my milk for coffee in the morning, so I improvised… subbing in whole milk yogurt and water at a 2:1 ratio. (For a full recipe, it’d be 2 cups yogurt, 1 cup water). This seemed like the perfect liquid amount and the regular ones came out very nicely. The gluten-free ones were far too gummy, but that’s really the fault of the flour blend. (Namaste Foods used to be my go-to, but I think I have to break up with it.)

When I made these I looked at the batter and thought this is wrong. Not sure if it was intentional or not, but your recipe has three cups of buttermilk where Martha’s has only two. Still tasty with three, just more crepe like.

After making these twice, exactly as written, I’m really puzzled about why the batter is very runny, and the pancakes very thin (but delicious). I used buttermilk from Kate’s Homemade Butter, measured volumes carefully, and weighed my flour (using 140g/cup). Is my flour measurement way off? Perhaps the buttermilk I use is just way too thin? I’ll have to give these another try, but with less liquid.

I just made these and I have to say that this is my new go-to pancake recipe. It is both crisp and fluffy at the same time with bursts of tangy fruit (I used fresh blackberries). Thanks for another tried and tested recipe. I am finding it harder each day to trust recipes from any where but here!

Cooking these was like trying to fry water. Followed the directions perfectly, but the batter was thin as water. A big mess, ended up throwing half of it out. The flavor was great, but these were basically crepes. I would make these again with a 1:1 milk/flour ratio.

Kids wanted pancakes and I told them to make them – then they pulled out the Bisquick box to find it almost empty. (I know, I know, but with teenaged boys it’s just easier for them to follow 3 steps than trying to get them to focus on more ingredients). So, since I would never use Bisquick myself, I turned to Deb for a good recipe that’s not my favorite oatmeal buttermilk pancakes that has to soak overnight.

We didn’t have buttermilk so I used 2 cups greek plain yogurt (the only kind we had) and 1 cup milk. Otherwise followed recipe exactly including tips regarding dry/wet ingredients and barely mixing – they were perfect!

Hi Deb! Love your blog and proud owner of your cookbook. :) I made these for my family this morning and they came out extra chewy/undercooked/slimy in the middle. I’ve successfully made pancakes before (with other recipes). The only thing I did differently was use a stainless steel pan instead of a non-stick one. Would that make a difference? Thanks for your help!

I made blueberry pancakes for Shrove Tuesday and folded in the egg whites. They were the best ever. (We each ate 9). A perfect Shrove Tuesday feast. Today, first day of Lent we are losing the carbs and sugar for 40 days and hope to eat less of them forever. I look forward to looking up some of the more “paleo” recipes on your site.

I just made this for the second time. First time I followed the recipe as written and felt like the pancakes, although delicious, were too thin. This time I only used two cups of buttermilk and we loved the result! I also added a bit of cinnamon and vanilla for flavor as I omitted the butter (due to my husband’s lactose intolerance, even though I used real buttermilk, sorry hubby!). Yum. Thanks for all of these wonderful tips. I dropped in the berries once the batter was on the skillet and love that cleaner result where your batter doesn’t have to turn blue!

I’ve made this recipe twice now and both times it turned out horribly. I have no idea why. I measured the ingredients properly and I am familiar with cooking pancakes. No matter how many times I tried, they turned out gummy and inedible in the center. Big, small, high heat, medium heat, low heat, griddle, pan, it didn’t matter. They never turned out right. I also tried adding more flour towards the end but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Feeling pretty defeated at this point.

Just made these for the first time and they were SO good! My husband and kids gobbled them up. I love the tang from the buttermilk, and that they’re not overly sweet (that’s what syrup is for). We didn’t have any blueberries so I just made them plain and they were delicious.

Made these for Father’s Day, followed the recipe to a T but ended up making the batter ~1 hour early and refrigerating it until ready to use. They turned out perfectly and my entire family of hungry boys declared them the best pancakes they’d ever had. Thanks for another fabulous recipe.

I don’t know where I went wrong! These were so chewy, thin, and flimsy. The batter was like water. They were inedible! I’ve had so much success with your recipes, but this one was a fail. Maybe there’s not enough flour?

Hi. I made the blueberry pancakes for the first time. But my blueberries tasted sour. The pancakes were alright. I’ve made pancakes from scratch before. Is there a way for me to know how to make the blueberries sweeter. Or were they not just ripe enough?

They are just perfect. I live in India and and our version of the buttermilk is simply adding water to homemade yogurt and beating well. So I did exactly that and added to the batter. Of course I added a pinch of salt to it and kept it thick. And it worked. And so my search for the perfect pancake batter ends right here.

I dont know why, but this recipe made a TON of skinny crepe like pancakes. They are delicious and we love them, but I dont know how well they will freeze and defrost (we like to defrost in the toaster and they are just so thin).

Have to tweak the proportions a little, because it takes forever (at a lower temp so they don’t burn) for the pancakes to cook, and they end up quite flat. I’m pretty sure the strawberries are the culprit… Too juicy……

Unfortunately, these were a fail for me. The batter was way too wet and the pancakes were dense and gooey regardless of what heat I cooked them at, even at high heat they barely browned. I used Katie’s real buttermilk, so maybe that was the issue.

These are perfect!! I made them as above but was running out of ap flour and had to use 1/2 cup WW flour in the end to make up the 2 cups. They were so light and rich that I think I could get away with 1/2 WW flour overall! I added the butter into the batter and used butter to fry the pancakes as well, which was key to the flavor. I had some trouble with floppy pancakes at the beginning while getting the cast iron to the right temperature and myself to be more patient. After that, it evened out and I got more consistent and easy to flip pancakes. I had looked for this recipe as an excuse to use up leftover buttermilk but I will definitely use this recipe as an excuse to buy buttermilk in the first place. Made these with self-picked olallieberries next to some scrambled eggs as breakfast for dinner :) yum!

I usually make the peach and sour cream pancakes (INCREDIBLE) or the blueberry yoghurt multigrain ones (sometimes substituting strawberries for blueberries – much wetter and harder to control but like eating strawberry summer cake for breakfast). I tried these today and I found them much harder to make. I found that even though I cooked them for absolutely ages on a low heat they remained raw in the middle. I am sure I was just impatient but I do find the blueberry yoghurt ones much easier to make! P.s. thank you Deb – I cook from this blog almost every day. I am now a person who can actually cook, and it’s completely thanks to you.

I made these using tip three (folding in egg whites). Fantastic! Fast, light, lacy pancakes. They will look too wet at first but resist the urge to add more flour. Once you fold the egg whites in they get more body and will be just the right consistency for cooking.

These are — and I’m not exaggerating — the best pancakes that I have ever had. Perfectly light and fluffy and SO GOOD! I didn’t have blueberries on hand so I used sliced strawberries, which caramelized a bit when flipped and were out of this world.

I modified the recipe to make savory pancakes for dinner and I love them. I leave out the sugar and up the salt a bit, sub about 1/3 of the flour for white whole wheat flour, and mix in some cracked pepper, red pepper flakes, finely diced and sauteed zucchini and/or broccoli, and a big fistful of grated cheese. Deb I think you would like them. They’re eggy and cheesy and comforting, and not totally unhealthy.

Goodbye, Aunt Jemima. Hello, Auntie Heather! Holy cow. These were so easy to prepare and so much tastier than from a box. Not sure if we did something wrong, though. Because I ended up with closer to two dozen 4-inch pancakes—not that anyone minded. And your trick about adding blueberries/chocolate chips to each pancake instead of the whole bowl is a game changer. So simple. 👍 Thanks for another Bubby and Zaida–approved winner!

Thank you again for another wonderful recipe! I did fail miserably the first time I made them – I used milk/lemon juice as a sub for buttermilk and the pancakes were more like crepes. They were yummy, but not the fluffy pancakes I prefer! Second time I followed your recipe exactly and they were perfect! Your recipes never fail. Thank you so much for all you do!

I’ve made great pancakes with this recipe once successfully. Every subsequent attempt has failed spectacularly. I get no intermixing of the wet and dry ingredients – just wet clumps at the bottom of the mixing bowl. The result is runny batter with big clumps, more like a puffy crepe than a pancake. Any ideas on how to get better results?

We made these and they are delicious! But only two of us are eating them and we have a ton of batter. Our options are to prepare and freeze, but fresh is so good, how long would you keep the batter in the fridge?

Batters with the baking soda/baking powder mixed in are not going to keep well; I’d fry them all up and freeze them in a single layer on trays. Once they’re frozen, stack them together; you can keep them frozen for months and toast them as needed.

Ok. So I’ve made this recipe so many times. Every single time I just find that there is just WAY too much liquid in this batter. I’m not sure if anyone else is having that problem….but, 3 cups of buttermilk?! Each time it turns my batter into a soupy, watery mess (although somehow the pancakes still end up tasting pretty good).

I’m wondering – is it because I’m making the buttermilk myself (milk + lemon juice)? Maybe “real” buttermilk is much thicker?

I made these without altering the recipe at all and the batter was so so thin and watery, looked nothing like the photos here. I tried again but with only 2 cups buttermilk and they were perfect. I can’t believe the amount of buttermilk is actually supposed to be 3 cups. Is that really what worked for everyone that tried this recipe with great results?

I make these pancakes once a week as blueberry pancakes are my husband’s favorite breakfast. I use three cups of buttermilk and get delicious results. One caveat; I prefer thin crepe like pancakes to thick ones. These are perfect for me.

Am I reading correctly this recipe calls for 3 cups of buttermilk? My batter is incredibly thin and it’s just a disaster. My grandmother’s recipe I’ve used for forever had the same amount of flour but HALF the amount of milk. I don’t understand :-(

Same thing happened for me. I’ve tried to make these twice now and the liquid to flour ratio just seems so off from every other pancake recipe I have made. Total fail which is rare for me with your recipes Deb! I had to add at least another cup of flour. Granted I was using faux buttermilk (milk with lemon juice) and the real thing is thicker so maybe that was it?

Yes, same for me — too much liquid by far. Perhaps it is because I made my own buttermilk instead of store-bought? I ended up making the failed first few and then adding flour to fix the consistency. Then they were wonderful. Next time I will reduce to 2 cups and then add more buttermilk if needed for consistency. Also, I used fresh (tiny) wild blueberries (in season right now) and stirred them right in the batter. Delicious!

I made my own buttermilk for this recipe as well and it worked fine, so I don’t think it’s the DIY buttermilk issue. I wonder if it has to do with one’s expectation for what a batter needs to look like?

I think the batter for this recipe is meant to be rather very thin, which I actually preferred after having had several failures with very thick batters. But it was bit of a pain to bake them.

I have been making this recipe for my boys since they started finger foods. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with puréed fruits and veggies. They have turned out great and I get to sneak in a little more fiber.

Hey! This is a super old post, but we made it this weekend and I am pretty sure your flour amount is wrong! We used 2 cups of flour and ended up with more of a crepe than a pancake. Maybe it should read 3 cups flour instead?

I ONLY use this pancake recipe, with amazing results every time. Keeping the heat nice and low and being patient is the key. Usually I substitute yogurt for the buttermilk, thinned with a little milk. I often add cinnamon and a splash of vanilla, which are nice additions, but honestly these are perfect exactly as is.

I want you to know that I was a failure at making pancakes before this blog post. My husband is a major pancake lover (and critic). My pancakes are now perfection, according to him, and every time I make them I reread through the instructions. Every time they are exactly right!! Thank you.